Review of Eukanuba Healthy ExtrasBaked Bars For Puppies

Ingredient Review

The first ingredient is wheat flour. Wheat flour is produced by grinding uncooked wheat into a powder. In addition to dietary fiber, wheat flour provides various vitamins, minerals, and plant based protein.

Wheat is considered a controversial ingredient because of it's protein content. Plant based proteins degrade the overall protein quality in the product. In addition, many people believe wheat is one of the most common ingredients to cause food allergies or intolerance. However, grains such as wheat are typically low offenders in comparison to certain protein sources such as beef.

The second ingredient is chicken by-product meal. Chicken by-product meal is produced by cooking chicken by-products using a process called rendering. By-products are defined by AAFCO as the "non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals." Thus, chicken by-products contain nearly all parts of chickens which are typically not consumed by humans. These parts include the liver, lung, spleen, kidney, stomach, blood, intestine, bone, etc.

Like other meat by-products, chicken by-products are considered controversial, mainly because they are inexpensive ingredients which consumers have equated with slaughterhouse waste. However, manufactures and many experts claim that animal by-products are unjustly criticized. Proponents state that "named" by-products, such as chicken by-products, supply many important nutrients required by dogs.

The third ingredient is chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols). Chicken fat is typically collected while cooking chicken using a process called rendering. Chicken fat is a relatively high quality source of essential fatty acids. In particular, chicken fat is high in linoleic acid, an important omega-6 fatty acid.

The fourth ingredient is dried beet pulp. Dried beet pulp is the by-product which remains once sugar has been extracted from sugar beets. The primary contribution of beet pulp is dietary fiber.

We'd also like to note that beet pulp is fairly controversial in pet food. Proponents claim that beet pulp can promote intestinal health and regulate blood sugar. However, opponents claim that beet pulp is an inexpensive filler.

The fifth ingredient is natural chicken flavor. As the name implies, natural chicken flavor provides chicken flavor to the product. This particular flavor is derived from natural sources which may or may not include real chicken.

Next we have fish meal. Fish meal is defined by AAFCO as "the clean, dried, ground tissue of undecomposed whole fish or fish cutting, either or both, with or without the extraction of part of the oil." Since the specific type of fish is not mentioned, we cannot discuss any specific qualities of this ingredient. In general, anonymous ingredients are low quality inclusions when compared to ingredients such as tuna meal, salmon meal, catfish meal, etc.

The next ingredient is salt. Salt is an important mineral for both humans and dogs. Depending on the quantity of salt used (which we cannot determine), salt may or may not be a nutritious addition in the recipe.

Then we have dried brewers yeast. Dried brewers yeast is a by-product of the brewing industry. Brewers yeast is rich in various minerals and contains a notable amount of protein.

Moving on, we have dried egg product. Dried egg product consists of shell-free eggs which are easy to digest and contain high quality protein. Egg protein is often given the highest biological value (BV). The BV metric measures the usability of the ingredient's protein.

Moving on with this review, we have dicalcium phosphate. Dicalcium phosphate (misnomer for dibasic calcium phosphate) is commonly used in pet food and treats as a dietary calcium supplement. It can also be found in breakfast cereals, enriched flour, noodle products, pharmaceutical tablets, and toothpastes.

The next ingredient in this review is potassium chloride. Potassium chloride is a potassium supplement.